# Just got back from Cuba



## drdice (Sep 11, 2006)

What an amazing place...and I'm not just talking about the cigars or rum. Very unique country. The people are extremely friendly. Lots of talented people in Cuba...ie artistically and musically. Havana was an incredible experience..... especially architecturally. One side of the street you see beautiful Spanish colonial buildings dating back a few hundred years.....across the road you'll see a pile of rubble or some ugly grey concrete Soviet style monstrosity used for housing. Anyway on to my week long experience in the land of Habanos.

Got in very late at night...couldn't find a cigar store at the airport. There was no way I was NOT going to spend my first night in Cuba without a cigar. I had our cab-driver find a small store that was open selling cigars. The selection was very limited. I picked up a RyJ tubo 2. It smoked like crap...too tight of a draw (which I seem to keep having with these) but who cares... I was officially smoking a Cuban cigar in Cuba!

Next day I head into town (Varadero) from our resort. I stop into 3 different LCDH's looking to buy singles and 3 packs. None of them would let me into their humidors....they said it was b/c of my "perfume". Oddly enough I wasn't wearing perfume or cologne...just a touch of deodorant. Heck you could smell their perfume from a mile away! Next thing I run into is that the price on singles seems to vary quite a bit. The first 2 stores did not list their prices on singles and packs...they only had box prices. When I asked why the discrepency they basically said it's cheaper to buy the whole box.. Ok, I'm totally fine with that....however they were trying to charge me an extra 3-4 Convertible pesos per cigar. I finally said "the heck with this" and was willing to get screwed just so I could get some cigars to sample. I go to pay with Visa and they tell me that their machines are down....and it is always better to pay with cash. Told them I didn't have enough cash....they then gave me very precise directions how to go to the nearest bank. I was pissed off at this point and had one last LCDH to check out.....finally SUCCESS!!!! By far the best treatment and deals I received was at the last LCDH that I went to. The prices even for singles and small packs were in line with the box prices. They didn't let me go into the walk-in humidor which looked ENORMOUS but I was able to find most of what I wanted to try.
This was what I bought to smoke during the week (no particular order)
1. Partagas Lusitanias (3 pack)
2. Monty #2 (3 pack)
3. Hoyo Epi #1 (3 pack)
4. Hoyo Petit Robusto (3 pack)
5. Partagas serie P2 (3)
6. Trinidad Coloniales (5 pack)
7. Trinidad Fundadores (1)
8. Cohiba Siglo IV (5 pack)
9. Cohiba Robusto (3 pack)
10. Hoyo Epi #2 (3 pack)
11. Partagas serie D1 2004 EL (1)

Sorry to disappoint you guys but no i wasn't able to smoke all of these! I was smoking between 2-3 cigars a day although I did manage a 4 cigar day once. I'm normally now a 1 cigar a day smoker and sometimes 2 a day on the weekends...guess I'm not in cigar shape to do 5 a day!

My impressions.....of these cigars- this will be very general as this post is getting pretty long winded as is.

1. Partagas ROCKS. I didn't smoke a bad Party all week. I was very surprised by how nicely the Lusitanias smoked. This was and still is the longest cigar I have ever smoked. They lasted between 2 to 2.5 hours. Very consistent and nice smooth draw the entire way down. Absolutely impressive. I don't have a very refined palate so I can't give the flavor breakdowns....I only know what tastes good and what doesn't...and this tasted GOOD! PS2 was very nice as well....a better flavor IMO vs PSD4 (i've had these before so didn't buy them in cuba this time). I would describe the flavor as a "jacked-up" version of a PSD4. Smoked very nice and smooth...ie almost ideal draw with lots of rich smoke. 

2. Hoyo ROCKS too! Didn't smoke a bad Hoyo all week either. I normally really like the epi2's but found that I preferred the taste of the epi1's. But what really impressed me was the Petit Robustos. Talk about incredible rich flavor....that wonderful cuban spice with an aroma to match. Holy crap...this little sucker was my favorite smoke all week...it lasted around the 40-45 minute mark...but they were so darn tasty I knew I was smoking them a little quicker than I should have.

3. Trinidad -disappointing. All the Trini's i tried smoked "tight". Once I had them down around halfway or so they started to smoke more consistently...but the flavor was very bland for me. Maybe it was b/c my taste buds were being fried by the other cigars...i dunnno but I did smoke 2 of the coloniales and 1 fundadore during the week and all were pretty much flavorless. Their also quite pricey.

4. Cohibas- major let down for me. I normally love the siglo II's but I've smoked quite a few of them in the past year so wanted to try something different. The siglo IV's had a very nice taste but they just wouldn't smoke well. The draw was ridiculously tight. These are a very densely rolled cigar and I'm assuming they are perhaps over humidified and am hoping the remaining 3 I have left will be fine after sitting in my humidor for 6 months or so at around 66-68% RH . Time will tell. The Robustos smoked better but were still a little tight on the draw....flavor was less noticeable than in the Siglo IV. So far the best Cohiba I think I've ever had is still a siglo II...although i did have a Robusto once that was incredible as well as a Coronoas Especiales.

5. The Monty's smoked great! The #2 's I had all smoked fine. I still prefer the flavor of #4 and #5.... but overall I was pleased with the draw and the taste. The #2's to me at least seem a little muted in taste vs the 4's and 5's.


Finally, at the end of the week we went on a City tour of Habana which included a visit to the La Corona Cigar factory. Incredible to see the making of cigars from just plain tobacco leaves. I was amazed at how quickly they can actually do the process by hand. The day we went there they were primarily making Monty#2's, Cohiba Robustos and Cuaba Salamones. (I might start a thread on my experience at the factory if people want more detail)
Anyway there was a cigar store right beside the factory and this is where i went to make my final purchase of 100 cigars before returning back to Canada. Canada customs allows 50 cigars per person to be brought back in duty free.
Here's my box purchases-
25 of Hoyo Epi #2 (box date june 06)
25 of Hoyo Epi #1 ( box date nov 05)
20 (they only had these in boxes of 10) of Partagas Serie P2 (box date Apr06)
25 Montecristo Robusto EL (box date was dec 05)
5 Cohiba Siglo VI's in the aluminum tubes. (I bought these simply so that I could say that i've had siglo 6's!....will not be smoking these anytime soon).

Went back to the resort in Varadero and had time for one last smoke in Cuba....ended the week with a Cohiba Robusto.

I'm hoping to get some pictures up when I have the time.

Hope you found my week interesting!

Jim


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## mastershogun (Nov 3, 2006)

wow, sound like you had a great time... can't wait for pics


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## RPB67 (Mar 26, 2005)

Interesting !!

Sounds like a great time Jim ! 

Great cigars you smoked and bought. Just being able to smoke a Cuban Cigar in Cuba, Priceless. 

I hope you have pics to post. I would love to see them.


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## rick l (Apr 4, 2006)

You have to post some pics. It sounds like you had a wonderful time. Cuba is definitely in my travel plans. Enjoy your smokes. Rick


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## n3uka (Nov 13, 2006)

thanks for the report. can't wait to see pics.


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## mike32312 (Jan 26, 2006)

What an awesome experience. thanks for sharing. Oh and your purchases..:dr :dr :dr :dr


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## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

Well written and very interesting, thanks!

Johnny


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## Puffin Fresh (Nov 1, 2006)

Sounds like a great trip! I'm officially jealous!


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## Sancho (Oct 13, 2006)

That sounds very interesting, I cant wait to see some pics of the exp.


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## a2vr6 (Oct 28, 2006)

Looks like you had an awesome time. Smoking cigar's in Cuba is something else, they will never taste better. You had better luck in the hunt for Cigars than I did though. How did you find the prices? What did the boxes/packages you purchased cost you? Just wondering if they jacked them up since I have last gone.


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## donp (Mar 5, 2006)

drdice:
Thanks for the thread and great description of your time in Cuba. I was fighting to keep from drooling as I was reading it. I would love to see some pics.


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## Ivory Tower (Nov 18, 2005)

That's a great trip you had. Wish I was there too.


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## Dzrtrat (Oct 9, 2006)

Man that sounds like a wonderful time! You Canadians have all the luck! I can't wait for the pics. :w


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## kheffelf (Jul 31, 2006)

Thanks for sharing all that info of your trip, pics would be great.


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## Sandman (Mar 26, 2006)

Cool thread. It sounds like fun, and did you have to pay any duty on those cigars once you got back to Canada, Thanks.


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## ATLHARP (May 3, 2005)

Nice!

Sounds like a fun trip. I hope some day they will let you in the humidor!

ATL


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## Rploaded (Nov 7, 2006)

Sounds like you had a good time; Did you enjoy seeing all of the classic cars, that was always a fav of mine.

Havana reminds me of downtown santa domingo but much cleaner.... I am glad you were able to have such a wonderful time........ The two tier pricing sucks there but Cuba is for sure one of my top hide away palces for a person to run off too........ Dont know how it will be after castro passes.


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## sirwood (Aug 26, 2003)

Sounds like a great trip!:dr


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## luckybandit (Jul 9, 2006)

cs cigar god!!!!!!!!!! please post some pics


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## kjd2121 (Jul 13, 2006)

Very nice writeup - Sounds interesting


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## mhillsing23 (Apr 18, 2006)

I am in for pics too. Sounds like you had a great trip, congrats!


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## Headcrash (Sep 7, 2006)

sounds awesome, what a great week! can't wait to see the pics


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## RPB67 (Mar 26, 2005)

We still need the pics !!!

Were are the pics !!!


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## drdice (Sep 11, 2006)

OK guys I got some pics up. I'm too much of a computer moron to figure out how to place them in this thread....but they are on the home page in the Photo Gallery section. I've included some brief descriptions on most of the pics about where or what the photo was about. 

Someone asked about duties on cigars....they are very high in Canada. But, if you are out of the country for greater than 48 hours then you are allowed to bring back 50 cigars duty free per person. Thus, b/w my wife and I we were about to bring back 100 duty free. Don't tell anyone but I had another 15 cigars in my travel humidor which was packed carefully in the suitcase!


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## beezer (Aug 29, 2006)

tell us more about the hotties :dr


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## a2vr6 (Oct 28, 2006)

beezer said:


> tell us more about the hotties :dr


Lol, if your refering to the local women. There are not many hotties to look at. Now the european tourists are another story. :dr


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## dyj48 (May 1, 2006)

Wow...great trip...wish we could go as well..it'll be fun to organize a CS trip to Cuba to tour the factories...time to talk to Raul and see if we can get this embargo off!!!


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## Habsrule29 (May 11, 2005)

Im glad you had a great time!

I honeymooned in Cuba 4 yrs ago. That was before I was into cigars. I smoked a few down there and brought 2 boxes home with me and Ive been sliding down that slope ever since!


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## Diesel Kinevel (Aug 21, 2006)

Im still waiting on TriShield to take me to cuba:r :r


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## TheDirector (Nov 22, 2006)

Pics! PIX PIIIIIXXXXXX!:gn


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## drdice (Sep 11, 2006)

Pics are up . Go to the home page and scroll down to the gallery links. Look up my name (drdice). Sorry but i'm an internet moron couldn't figure out how to upload all the pictures to this thread....the gallery section just does it for you automatically.


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## drdice (Sep 11, 2006)

Forgot to mention...it's in the "Personal Gorilla Pictures" section...right at the bottom on the CS home-page.


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## awesome1 (Dec 13, 2006)

Looks like you had a great time!! I have been missing Cuba a lot lately. I was there in may and June of this year but got caught both times coming back.. In the last 2 years have been 7 times and made many friends that I am still in contact with. Some are artists, musicians ect.. Of course lots of women too. 

In june i went out to see Robaina in PDR and my friend that works at havana radio wanted me to record an interview with him.. Its great to hear him speak about his family and where they came from. originally from Santiago and originally they grew sugar. I have about 20 minutes of it on my cpu still and will always remember that once in a lifetime memory.. I hope he is around a lot longer but at almost 88 yrs old he has lived a full lfe. In the photo he is offering me one of his farm roled cigars that he punches than lights for me.. He is still full of life and still pretty sharp for his age.. 

Anyway, looks like you had a great trip, be sure and take many more before the end of the embargo, it will be a different place when Mcdonalds hits every street corner.


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## Gargamel (Nov 8, 2004)

Great thread.


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